Shrouded in Darkness
by Jedipiratedragon
Summary: My version of the Avatar: The last Airbender. Its pretty much the same story line as the original show, i simply added an OC character and follow the gang around while they try and find out who the OC is, and whats that story.
1. Chapter 1

Jet talked with a charming smile as he and his band of renegades escorted the ragtag team of two water tribe kids and an air nomad back to their hideout. Unknown to the guests a mysterious figure lurked over head. It watched in silence as the ponytail boy was tricked into a rude ride through some not so forgiving bushes, landing not too far from her feet. A few shallow cuts and twigs were quickly forgotten as the outsider noticed the mysterious teen staring at him from behind blank expressionless features. "Great work Sakka, I see you've found Karra." The charismatic boy flashed a smile in her direction. "We missed you in the skirmish today." She gave no response. "Come on don't be like that. I've brought us some new allies." Katara was pushed forward and introduced. Jet pointed to the kid with the arrow tattoos, calling him Aang, and then motioned to the older boy sitting at her feet adding, "And that's Sokka." Still the teenage girl didn't react. Aang smiled, but felt a little uncomfortable under the hard gaze of the mysterious figure standing on the platform above him. Katara was fascinated by her though. The visibly accentuated muscles of a natural fighter, made her gape with envy at the maple skin across the tree from her. Simple bracelets could be seen on the older girl's wrists, and a leather band to match was located in the middle of her upper left arm that looked warn; almost like it had been there for a long time. Only her most striking feature was the ebony hair that had a single streak of silver lining the left side of her face. However the proud water bender tried not to show how hurt she was when the mysterious teen turned and walked away. Not so much as a word of greeting, or acknowledgement passed from her lips.

"You'll have to forgive her. She's shy." Pipsqueak offered as an explanation to the cold reception. It was clear the silent teen was a highly valued member of the group.

Shrugging, the water bender allowed herself to be distracted from her annoyance by the view around her. "Beautiful right? But more importantly, the fire nation can't find it." Jet asked genuinely proud of his hideout.

"They would love to find you. Wouldn't they, Jet?" Smellerbee smirked landing softly beside the wild haired leader.

"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee. Karra would never stand for it." He pointed out leading the others around the tree house.

"How come they want to catch you?" Asked an intrigued Katara. Purposefully she maneuvered to her new heartthrob's side, as the group made their way through the tree house.

Jet smirked triumphantly, and in a cool, nonchalant tone added "I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble. See, they took over a nearby Earth Kingdom town a few years back."

"We've been ambushin' their troops, cutting off their supply lines, and doing anything we can to mess with `em." Pipsqueak beamed with pride.

Continuing to walk and talk, and soon enough the conversation turned to how everyone wound up in the forest. Longshot, the archer, his village was burnt to the ground by the enemy. The one called The Duke showed up trying to steal the freedom fighters food. Jet even explained how his parents had been killed by the fire nation. With a gentle, comforting hand, Katara recounted the story of her mother being taken by fire benders. Out of sight the mysterious teen silently watched the group continue their tour of the place.

For a split seconded the Water tribe warrior could have sworn he felt eyes on the back of his neck. "What does she do?" Asked Sokka.

The Duke shrugged. "Whatever she wants to. Most of the time Karra scouts fire troop camps. Sometimes she fights, that is when she feels like it."

"You told us your stories, what's her's?" Curiosity got the better of the girl in blue. She watched as her new friends looked from one to the other.

Finally it was the leader of the renegade's that spoke up. "No one really knows, but Karra is the best fighter we got."

The tour continued until dinner, when a fest was prepared. Once the food was pretty much consumed, Jet stood and made a powerful speech. Most of it was about the fight that had taken place earlier in the day. Cheers of approval and congratulations rang from the crowd as he named a few of the highlights from the battle. "Now, the Fire Nation thinks they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees." Jumping to the center of the table, he added "Maybe they're right." The whole placed roared with the 'boo' of hate. Waiting for the noise from his comment to subside, the wild haired leader took a sip from his wooden cup. "Or maybe they are dead wrong." The renegade's face grew dark. All of a sudden the usually friendly demeanor drained, leaving only hard anger. As the rest of the tree house erupted in excitement, two people noticed Jet's change in appearance; Sokka and the mysterious stranger. However it was only the self-appointed leader of team "Avatar" that noticed the eye-role and silent departure from the silent teenager, as once again she took to the shadows leaving the rest of the kids to their fun.

It intrigued the boy with a ponytail. This was only the second time he'd seen Karra, and yet he got the strange feeling she didn't like to be around crowds of people; even being around those of a similar age seamed to make the quiet, ebony haired girl uncomfortable. Lost in his own thoughts Sokka was only slightly aware of the conversation around him. Only vaguely observing how shamelessly his little sister was flirting with Jet as he sat in between the two siblings. The recently humbled water tribe warrior suddenly felt the need to know how come, if she felt so out of place why did she stay. Suddenly the sound of Katara telling their new ally that Aang was the avatar snapped the curious boy out of his private musings.

"Avatar huh? Very nice." Jet smirked giving the air bender an approving look. Aang murmured his thanks, before the older boy continued. But the look from his pep talk still didn't sit well with Sokka, even now that his charming personality had returned. "So I might know a way that you and Aang can help in our struggle."

"Unfortunately we have to leave tonight." The older brother stood trying to stalk off.

"Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow." Jet had hit his mark. The water tribe warrior stopped dead in his tracks.

Slowly he turned to face the older boy. "What mission?"

The next morning Sokka joined four of the Rebels on what appeared to be a scouting mission. Much to the tree house guest's surprise, Karra was among them. When the small team reached their destination, the kids scattered. Sokka ended up teaming up with Jet, so the two boys waited in the same tree. Using the skills his father taught him, the only boy with a ponytail rammed his jawbone knife into the trunk of the tree. "What are you doing?" The boy from the water tribe only waved off the question, whispering something about how this trick was used to amplify vibrations. "Good trick." The mission leader stated, relatively impressed. Cupping his hands around the pommel, Sokka moved his ear closer to listen. "Got anything?"

"Nothing yet. Wait! Yes, someone's approaching."

"How many?"

"I think there's just one."

Several trees down Pipsqueak and Smellerbee became visible, as there wild haired leader let out a whistle call that mimicked the sound a bird might make. One of them answered with a similar call. "Good work, Sokka. Ready your weapon."

As the water tribe boy pulled his knife from the tree trunk, the sea blue irises grew wide when 'The Someone' that came into view was a stooped old man using a cane. The poor man was hobbling down the path in a simple red robe. "Wait! False alarm. He's just an old man." Sokka called out, but it was too late.

In horror the outsider watched as Jet landed in front of the helpless stranger. It was especially unnerving to see that no one was going to step in and stop him. "What are you doing in our woods, you leech." Jet questioned. As the clearly fire nation man pleaded that he was just a weary traveler, the crazed forest dweller swung his hooked swords. The cane supporting the elderly man was sent flying. Turning to run in fear, the unfortunate subject of the renegade leader's anger only managed to run into Pipsqueak's chest. The impact to the hit knocked him to the ground. With the giant looming over him, the frightened man tried to crawl away. Unfortunately the tree toting brute merely pinned him to the forest floor with a large foot. "Do you like destroying towns? Do you like destroying families? Do you?"

"Oh please let me go have mercy," begged the terrified soul.

"Does the Fire Nation let people go? Does the Fire Nation have mercy?" Jet wound up a kick, but something interrupted him. Sokka had managed to snag the irrational boy's foot on the end of his club before the hit could be delivered.

"Jet, he's just an old man!" The downed traveler's defender insisted taking a defensive stance between the victim and the others.

"He's Fire Nation! Search him!" insisted the angry rebel leader, as once again his charismatic features disappeared.

As the others went to follow orders, Karra finally steeped in. She had been watching from the trees, waiting to see what would happen. So when Smellerbee bent to rob the old man, the oldest teen on the mission dropped from an overhead branch. With grace and accuracy, the silent warrior forced the two lackeys away from there shivering prey. Neither leader noticed the short skirmish behind them; simply because they were still too busy arguing over how much of a threat the traveler was. Yet it only took one word to end the feud. "Enough" Karra practically growled.

"What do you think you're doing? Search him!" Jet yelled almost losing the piece of grass in his mouth.

"If you want the Avatar to join your cause, you would do well to get his companions to agree with you." Sokka instantly took note that she didn't say 'our cause.'

Turning, the crazed leader demanded, "Have you forgotten, you owe me?"

"You wouldn't have gotten this far without my help. I made you." She shot back. Fire burned behind the once expressionless aquamarine orbs. The other freedom fighters took a step back as there leader moved closer to the eldest teen. SMACK. The sound of the powerful back-handed slap connecting with Karra's jaw echoed through the forest. It was almost as if the entire forest held its breath, waiting for the young woman to react. But the silent teen just stood there, a curtain of hair in front of her averted face caused by the blow.

Finally Jet broke the silence. "I don't need you anymore, but you… you still own me." He informed the girl standing in front of him. For a moment, the renegade leader studied her impassive expression, taking in his handy work as the sight of blood from a busted lip came into view.

Without even wiping the blood from her lip, Karra turned her back to the ring leader. Instead she knelt beside the man she and Sokka were protecting. After a few soft words, the old man took off his shoulder satchel and held it out to the teenagers standing over him. In one quick motion, Smellerbee snatched it from him. "Look we've got his stuff, Jet."

"This doesn't feel right." The water tribe warrior continued to insist.

"It's what has to be done." Jet insisted, then turning to the girl with the silver streak in her hair, added "We'll talk about this later." Then to the rest of the team, "Let's get outta here."

For several long moments the two men watched the unreadable teen. Unmoving she stood in the center of the path. Neither knew what to say to her, although it was the elderly gentlemen that tried first. "Thank you both for your h..."

"You had better get going. Next time it might be wiser to take a path around the forest." Her voice was cold, almost distant, but the man nodded his understanding and left.

Sokka waited till he was out of earshot before asking, "If you don't agree with him then why do you stick around?" The only answer he got was her walking away in the direction the others had one last look over his shoulder, the water tribe boy followed. They walked in silence. Even if he had wanted to ask questions, the boy with the ponytail wouldn't have known where to start. He had so many questions, but more than that he was disgusted with Jet.

Back at the hideout he sat in a corner brooding over how his sister and the avatar could be so enthralled with someone like him. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he hardly noticed Aang and the Lemur-bat, Momo, land in front of him after playing on the zip-lines again. The young air bender tried to show him some kind of pellet that exploded when thrown to the ground; but Sokka was not interested. In fact he completely missed an angry Momo steal some of them and make the twelve year old dance after one almost singed his tail.

"Hey Sokka. Is Jet back?" Katara asked, coming around the bend in the tree house. The question snapped the water bender's brother out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

"Yeah, he's back. But we're leaving."

Just then Momo ran out of ammo. "What?" Asked a confused Aang.

"But I made him this hat." The star struck girl held up a large cap made of stitched leaves accentuated by a flower on top. It looked quiet goofy.

More irritated than ever before, the oldest of the group growled, "Your boyfriend Jet's a thug."

"What? No, he's not."

"He's messed up Katara." Sokka rolled his eyes when his baby sister stomped her foot in childish defiance.

"He's not messed up; he's just got a different way of life. A really fun way of life." Aang argued with a goofy grin on his face.

"He beat and robbed a harmless old man! Not to mention the busted lip he gave one of his own." The only water tribe warrior argued.

"I wanna hear Jet's side of the story." Demanded Katara.

The only girl in team "Avatar" led the way to Jet's tent in the tree house. Once inside Sokka noticed at once that Karra was there and look slightly relieved to have someone interrupting the discussion between the two forest dwellers. The water tribesman made a mental note to try and check on her later, but right now Sokka wasn't completely convinced that the rebel leader would handle things as coolly as his comrade. Standing as far away from Jet as was humanly possible in the small space, the angry boy completely ignored his sister's explanation as to what had brought them here. Instead he found himself staring at the maple skinned mystery across the room. He didn't understand what it was that made her so fascinating. Suddenly his eyes were drawn to her wrists. What everyone had mistaken for bracelets, turned out to be scars like from having chains left on for long periods of time. "Sokka, you told them what happened but you didn't mention that the guy was Fire Nation?" Asked the wild haired boy, snapping him out of his musings.

Somehow in the time that Sokka had been wrapped up in his thoughts and now, Aang ended up wearing the hat Katara made, and it made his head look like an acorn.

"No, he conveniently left that part out." The love sick girl turned to glare at her older brother.

Taking his eyes from the other girl in the room, "Fine! Even so, he was a harmless civilian."

A hint of amusement made it to the leader of the freedom fighters eyes. "He was an assassin, Sokka." Jet pulled out a knife from underneath the hammock-bed he was sitting on, to embed it into a piece of wood serving as a footrest. It looked sinister from the snake of its blade to the four spikes evenly spaced along the grip; only allotting enough space for fingers to go between them.

The ring on the top looked suspicious. "See? There's a compartment for poison in the knife." Unscrewing the top, revealed a small glass tube filled with some red liquid. "He was sent to eliminate me, you helped save my life, Sokka."

Katara sighed with relief. "I knew there was an explanation."

"I didn't see any knife!"

"That's because he was concealing it." Jet insisted.

"See Sokka? I'm sure you just didn't notice the knife." His sister maintained.

However the water tribe boy would not have it. "There was no knife! Tell them Karra, you were there." He pleaded turning to the other girl. Only when everyone turned to look at the girl with the silver streak, she walked out of the room. Because everyone was watching Karra leave the room, no one saw the smirk on Jet's face.

"THERE WAS NO KNIFE! I'm going back to the hut and packing my things." With that Sokka stormed out as well.

"Tell me you guys aren't leaving yet. I really need your help."

The young avatar looked at Katara before asking, "What can we do?"

"The Fire Nation is planning on burning down our forest. If you both use water bending to fill the reservoir, we could fight the fires. But if you leave now, they'll destroy the whole valley."

Sokka was furious. After storming out he followed Karra, wanting to give the mysterious teen a piece of his mind. "Why didn't you tell them what happened? Look at me when I'm ..."

"Wouldn't matter."

"What are you talking about? I know the others they ..."

"Are star struck because he speaks well! I've seen it lots of times. Until something changes, they will believe anything he says. So what do you want?"

For the first times since meeting her she turned and talked directly to him. "Then why didn't I fall?"

"You did. If you hadn't you never would have gone on that mission." The natural fighter turned to leave, but added over her shoulder "But you have seen his true colors, be careful." It was a sincere warning that finally showed through the expressionless light blue orbs.

Back at the tent given to the new comers, Sokka busied himself packing up his stuff when the others came in. "We can't leave now with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest!"

"I'm sorry Katara. Jet's very smooth, but we can't trust him."

Crossing her arms over her chest Katara turned her back to her brother. "You know what I think? You're just jealous that he's a better warrior and a better leader!"

"Katara, I'm not jealous of Jet. It's just that my instincts …"

"Well my instincts tell me we need to stay here a little longer and help Jet. Come on Aang."

After staying out of the fight the young avatar followed his friend out of the tent. Looking back over his shoulder, added "Sorry Sokka."

That night Sokka slept sitting up against the wall with his things left packed up. The rest of his group slumbered peacefully in their bed rolls. An hour or so before dawn Jet and Karra could be heard arguing again. "Enough Jet, you're taking this too far." The mysterious teen growled.

"To be perfectly honest I don't care what you think. I had hoped you would have come back to your senses with some down time, but it looks like you leave me no choice." Sokka watched Jet pull his weapons on Karra, who took a pretty nasty blow to the arm. She managed to maneuver out of the way for the second attack, but when she reached for her own weapon the wild haired leader attacked her left arm. The water tribe onlooker watched the mysterious teen get slammed into the tree; pinned by the hooked blades. "I don't care if you help me with my plan or not, but try and stop me again and everyone here is going to learn of your little secrete." For a second the two fighters stared each other down. Sokka almost blew his cover, but finally Karra admitted defeat.

When the renegade leader took off leading some of his kid troops, the water tribe boy followed close behind. Stealthily he watched the others push a loaded wagon full of blasting jelly. He watched as Jet led them to a cliff overlooking a valley, where off in the distance a small walled town could be seen on the far side of a gentle river downstream.

However it was the opposite side that drew the kid's attention. "Now listen, you are not to blow the dam until I give the signal." The renegade looked down on the dam holding back so little water. "If the reservoir isn't full, the fire nation troops could survive."

One of the followers, named The Duke, jumped off the wagon. "But what about the people in the town? Won't they get wiped out too?"

"Look Duke, that's the price of ridding this area of the fire nation.' The charismatic boy placed a gentle hand on his friends shoulder. Then turning to the marksman in the team, "Now don't blow the dam until I give the signal, got it?"

Sokka watched the silent archer nod his understanding. Suddenly the water tribe warrior heard rustling behind him. Before the onlooker could react, he was dragged out of the bushes by his hair. Struggling, he was brought before Jet, as a knife was pressed to his exposed neck. "Where do you think you're going, Ponytail?" Sneered the one called Smellerbee.

The wild haired teen watched with a gleam in his brown eyes as the new arrival was brought before him. "Sokka. I'm glad you decided to join us."

Unceremoniously, the water tribe boy was forced to his knees by the giant rebel named pipsqueak. "I heard you plan to destroy the earth kingdom town." He started rubbing his shoulder.

"Our plan is to rid the valley of the fire nation." Answered Jet with the crazed look returning to his face.

"There are people living there Jet! Mothers, and fathers, and children."

"We can't win without making some sacrifices."

Pointing an accusing finger at the teen leader, Sokka shouted "You lied to Aang and Katara about the forest fire!"

"Because they don't understand the demands of war. Not like you and I do." Jet's voice softened almost pleading to be understood and approved of.

"I do understand." The kneeling teenager turned his face away. "I understand that there's nothing you won't do to get what you want."

"I was hopping you'd have an open mind. Even Karra knew when she was beaten, but I can see you've made your choice." Jet snapped his fingers, and Sokka's arms were forced behind his back and tied there. "I can't let you warn Katara and Aang. Take him for a walk – a long walk."

As he was being pushed away, the boy with the ponytail called over his shoulder "You can't do this!"

"Karra isn't here to stop me this time. Cheer up, Sokka. We're going to win a great victory over the fire nation today."

Pipsqueak and Smellerbee dragged the water tribe boy away. He was lead through the forest, but when he tried to stop the kid with face paint shoved him on. Saying "Come on, move along!"

The prisoner stumbled, but managed to keep his footing asking "How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?"

"Hey listen Sokka, Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay." Pipsqueak shrugged.

Trying to figure a way out of his predicament, he suddenly noticed a few snares covered by leaf-piles in the trees nearby. "If that's how Jet leads, then he's got a lot to learn." Like a shot, the water tribe member took off. Sprinting for the traps unfortunately he wasn't fast enough. Smellerbee grabbed him and wrestled the still tied boy to the ground. Before the rebel could do anything, both Sokka and Smellerbee were forced apart.

Karra stood between the face painted kid and the prisoner. Once again the mysterious girl wore a blank face. When Pipsqueak advanced, the sliver streaked teen managed to push the outsider out of the way, avoiding the blow as well. At the base of the tree where Sokka fell, he was forced to watch the skirmish unfolding in front of him. Karra was amazing. She dodged the giant with ease, and managed to trap both rebels in the steal cages. What was most fascinating to the boy with the ponytail was the faint smirk that lit the expression less void for a split second during the fight. "We have to move." Came a mumbled order as Karra untied Sokka and pulled him to his feet.

"What are you doing here?" Sokka demanded after being lead away from the trapped kids. "Jet said that you agreed with him." He watched Karra grow ridged, but she said nothing. "You don't really agree with him, do you? Why do you let him bully you? I've seen you fight, you don't need him."

The mysterious girl stopped in her tracks. With a heavy sigh, she let the silver strip of hair fall into her face. "Look we don't have much time, we have to move."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on." Planting his feet, Sokka refused to move.

"Fine! About a year ago I stumbled upon some kids fighting the Fire Nation, they were outnumbered and out matched. I stuck around, because I didn't want their blood on my hands. Also, I don't have anywhere else to go. Now do you want more, or can we go?" The fighter beauty looked more annoyed then angry, which only managed to confuse the rescued boy even more.

Sokka cocked his head to the side, "You obviously have a plan?"

The smirk returned to her features, "Of Course. Let's go."

Katara and Aang stood on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Earth Kingdom town. At the base of the dam, four of Jet's people could be seen unloading barrels from a wagon and arranging them into the optimum blasting position.

"What are they doing?" Asked the only girl traveling with the avatar.

"Hey, those are the red barrels he got from the Fire Nation." Aang pointed out scratching his head.

"Why would they need blasting jelly?"

Suddenly the light went on in the twelve year old boy's head. "Because Jet's gonna blow the dam."

"What? No - that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that." She insisted. Aang took off towards the edge of the cliff, saying something about having to stop them. Katara repeated her statement, only this time she sounded less convinced.

Just as the air bender reached the ledge, Jet crossed his path from behind snatching the glider from his opponent's grasp. The sudden loss of his glider left the arrow tattooed monk wobbling precariously on the edge, but a little bit of air bending put him back on stable footing. "Yes I would."

"Jet, why?"

"Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother, we can't let them do that to anyone else, ever again." The wild haired boy pleaded to be understood.

Trying to reason with him, she insisted "This isn't the answer!"

"I want you to understand me Katara. I thought your brother would understand, but ..."

"Where's Sokka?" Katara interrupted.

Tears fell from her eyes. Jet reached out to wipe them away, whispering "Katara." With a look of pain, the young water tribe girl bowed her head in the renegade leader's hand. Then without warning she used her water bending to throw him back wards with a grunt; he skidded on the ground.

Taking advantage of the leader's distraction, Aang reached for his glider. "I need to get to the dam."

However Jet was faster. As the air bender reached for his staff, the crescent end of a shuang gou pinned it like an axe. With his weapons hook to hook, the freedom fighter yanked the wooden glider away; tucking it in his belt behind him. "You're not going anywhere without your glider." The older teen smirked. Jet swung his swords, still hooked together, at Aang.

The air bender was forced to retreat. Somersaulting backwards, added "I'm not gonna fight you, Jet!"

"You'll have to if you want your glider back."

Trying to avoid a fight the bald monk fled to the treetops. Jet followed by hooking his weapons into a branch and hosting himself up. A battle broke out in the treetops, as the rebel leader attacked. Aang defended himself with blasts of air, but the wild haired boy was able to duck most of it. The fight raged over several levels of the forest, until finally both boys ended up falling after the glider witch had dislodged itself from Jet's belt. However once again the older boy was faster and Aang got knocked into the trunk of a tree. It was not gentle either. The blow left the air bender stunned.

Katara watched the whole thing from the ground, and when Jet landed he was bombarded with several blasts of water. Unable to cut threw them; the crazed teen was pinned to a tree when she chilled the water. The soggy renegade was frozen to the trunk from the neck down. "Why, Jet? I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me; you're sick and I trusted you!" A signal call startled both the outsiders as it rang crisply through the air. Looking around Katara and Aang tried to locate the noise to see what was going on, but before he could be stopped, Jet answered it. "What are you doing?"

"You're too late." The trapped rebel called triumphantly.

In a last ditch effort to stop the plan, Aang tried to take off on his glider, but in the battle it had been damaged. Instead, the poor monk landed face first in the dirt. "Sokka's still out there; he's our only chance." Both the Avatar and Katara watched the horizon with hopeful expressions.

"Come on, Sokka. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. Please." Whispered the water tribe girl, but there hopes were in vain. The damn was blown to smithereens from a lone flaming arrow.

"Sokka didn't make it in time." Aang whispered with pain lining his voice.

The water bender turned on her prisoner, "All those people... Jet, you monster!"

"This was a victory, Katara. Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe."

"It will be safe, without you." Sokka sat at Appa's rains, as the large beast came into view from below the cliff face.

Joy was on his too companion's faces as they shouted his name in excitement. Karra rode in the saddle and when they were close enough she hopped off. "Jet you went too far this time."

"Karra what have you done?" The crazed look returned to the trapped freedom fighter.

"We warned the villagers of your plan, just in time. At first they didn't believe us. The Fire Nation soldiers assumed we were spies. But one man vouched for us, the old man you attacked. He urged them to trust us, and we got everyone out in time." The water tribe boy explained sitting atop the bison.

Jet growled in frustration. "Sokka, you fool! We could have freed this valley!"

"Who would have been free?" Asked the mysterious teen.

"Everyone would be dead." Sokka finished.

"Karra, you traitor. I knew you couldn't be trusted!"

The boy with a ponytail landed the large beast next to Karra. Then slipping from his perch, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and added "No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people."

"Katara. Please, help me."

"Goodbye Jet." The young water bender turned away, climbing on Appa.

The water tribe warrior turned to the teen with a silver streak in her hair. "Where are you going to go?"

"There won't be anywhere that you can go that we won't find you." Jet shouted angrily.

The threat didn't even faze the girl. "Don't know." She shrugged.

"Come with us." Sokka extended his hand after he had mounted the flying bison. All watched as Karra hesitated. "Come on."

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Katara asked her brother.

"If it wasn't for her help, Jet would have attacked me when he did the old man. She's taken a lot of abuse from the wack job frozen to the tree, and besides the freedom fighters said themselves that Karra is their best fighter. So if we get in a tight spot, she can help out." Extending his hand a little farther, "What do you say?"

A last glance over her shoulder was all the encouragement she needed. Taking Sokka's hand, she allowed herself to be pulled up into the saddle while Jet screamed his frustration in the back ground. The frozen boy screamed curses at her until they could no longer hear his voice.

End Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

After a few days of travel, the only thing the gang found out about their newest companion was Karra still happened to be a very quiet person. In fact ridding on Appa was the only time her expression changed from its blank and expressionless void. The only thing that changed was a slight lifting of the lips, resulting in the faintest smile. Katara found the steady reserve of this teenager to be rather annoying, only because she didn't yammer on like the other kids. The only thing about this mysterious girl's past the others managed to get out of her was that she had only stumbled upon Jet a year ago.

Today they made camp in a rocky plain, not too far from the Great Divide. Jobs were assigned, and once again Karra offered to go get food. It surprised the other teens how well the girl with a silver streak in her hair knew about edible plants and roots. Despite her unwillingness to answer questions, the gang got the feeling that this tough girl had done something like this before; especially when she managed to track down enough food to satisfy even Sokka's stomach.

When the new recruit returned with the Avatar from gathering food, the two siblings were at each other's throats. "Hey, where's the campfire? And what happened to the tent?" The youngest member of the group asked.

"Why don't you ask miss know-it-all? Queen of the twigs!" Sokka grumbled as the two arguing siblings turned away from one another.

Whipping around so that she could yell at her brother's back Katara stamped her foot. "Well you're Mister Lazy Bum, King of the … tents!" The young water bender emphasized the last word by throwing a twig at the back of the older boys head.

The self-appointed leader whipped around and was about to say something to his sister when Aang's laughter interrupted him. "Okay listen guys. Hash words won't solve problems, action will. Why don't you just switch jobs?"

It only took a moment's consideration as the water tribe kids halfheartedly accepted the compromise. As they went about their new tasks, Aang turned to Karra with a self-satisfying gleam in this eye. "You see that? Settling feuds and making peace, all in a day's work for the Avatar." His only response was a raised eyebrow from the quiet girl. The large grin was of course short lived as Momo and Appa could be heard fighting over a single piece of fruit. With all his might the tiny lemur-bat was trying to push the melon out from under a single digit of the large air bison's forepaw. He even tried to fly away with it, but the food didn't move.

Depressed and beaten the small winged animal gave up and began to walk away, only to snatch the fruit from the bigger creature's mouth just before it was consumed. Unfortunately for Momo he ran into Aang who took the melon, threw it into the air and sliced it. As the pieces fell to the ground, two-thirds of it landed in front of Appa, and the rest was left for Momo. Looking at the food and then back at the Avatar, the small animal chirped angrily in protest. "Come on Momo, that's fair. Appa's got FIVE stomachs!"

Still not satisfied by that explanation, the angry critter scampered over to Karra who was cleaning and cutting the food that had just been collected. For the first time since leaving the freedom fighters, Karra smiled at the critter on her shoulder. With genuine amusement the quiet teen handed another piece of fruit to the lemur-bat, who chattered happily from his perch.

The next morning the small band walked to the edge of the large canyon. Only two found the sight breath taking as they all stared out over the cliff's edge. "Here it is guys, the Great Divide." Aang stated rather matter-of-factly.

"Wow! I could just stare at it forever." Katara sighed in awe.

"Okay I've seen enough." The older brother shrugged placing his hands behind his head.

"How can you not be fascinated Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire world." The girl in blue argued as everyone watched Sokka take Appa's reins, clearly a sign that he was ready to leave.

As Karra went to join him, "Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly over it."

Suddenly a man in an ornate white robe came rushing past Sokka, and as he passed, the self-appointed leader was rudely pushed out of the way. "Hey! If you're looking for the canyon guide, I was here first!" The stranger yelled.

The young woman watched with irritation behind a blank expression as the snooty stick figure explained that his people were refugees from the fire nation, and that the canyon guide was an earth bender who was the only way in or out of the canyon. Of course he did all of this with an attitude that just grated on the quiet fighter's nerves.

As the stranger yammered on about random information, Sokka stood behind him opening and closing his hand in a "this guy talks way too much" gesture. In fact it was rather hard for Karra to keep her stoic expression when the sarcastic water tribe boy was almost caught. However that was all forgotten as she was the first to notice a rather large group of people coming up the path.

Everyone else was too distracted to notice the mocha skinned sixteen year old tense and touch the leather band on her upper arm at the mention of more people. Of course when the second party actually showed up it was again hard to keep her face void of emotion. Because if anyone had actually been paying any kind of attention, they would have been able to tell that she wanted to run. The two animals however did sense Karra's tension as Appa allowed her to take refuge in his fur as he pressed up against her. Momo hugged the shy teen's neck, making soft cooing noise in her ear.

It wasn't until Aang's angry voice swept across her ears that Karra actually paid any attention to the conversation. "Alright… Here's the deal! We're all going down together and Appa here will fly you're sick and elderly across. Does that seem fair?"

Taking a handful of Appa's fur to steady herself, the girl with the silver streak in her hair almost turned white as she watched the two leader's finally agree on something. This was turning out to be a nightmare for Karra. The two groups were loaded into the saddle, and they stared at each other with great suspicion. Just before the large bison took to the sky, the newest recruit to "Team Avatar" jumped behind the reins. "I'll go with them to keep the peace until you catch up." She muttered.

Aang nodded his agreement finally noticing just how tense his new friend was. Then turning to his familiar, "Sorry Appa, but we'll only be apart for one night."

Everyone watched the large beast take off, before Sokka turned to his travel companions. "This feuding tribe stuff is serious business. Are you sure it's a good idea getting involved in this?"

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure." Aang shrugged. Then smiling widely, added "But when have I ever been?"

"He's the Avatar, Sokka. Making peace between people is his job."

Slumping his shoulders in despair, Sokka stated sarcastically rather then asked, "His job's gonna make us cross this whole thing on foot, isn't it?"

It took the bison a good half day to cross the canyon with only a single stop to gather fresh water. However to Karra it seemed like setting up camp took longer then the whole ride over with the constant bickering that broke out every few minutes. Every time one argument was squashed another was started. Surprisingly enough it took the sixteen year old till sundown to finally loose her temper. "Alright that's it. For the next however long you're under my watch, pick your side of the camp and stay there. Then if you can't be polite and civil to one another then you won't speak. The only one who's going to be doing any hitting or fighting around here is me."

With a glare the two groups complied, but only after the teenager had pulled her sword and stabbed it into the dirt. That night as everyone ate dinner, the camp was so quiet that the loudest thing there was the sound of the fire cracking. Despite her irritation at the two groups, Karra could not ignore the weariness in the Gan Jin's old bones, or the illnesses of the Zhang's.

Deciding to swallow her irritation, the young fighter chose to help. Digging into the bag she'd brought with her from the tree house, Karra produced several herbs. For the bone weary elderly she passed around an herbal tea as a remedy for tired travelers. Then walking around the sick, she passed out a tree root to chew here, or a different blend of tea there. It wasn't long before many of the two tribes felt better. In fact many of them got the best night's sleep they'd had in ages.

The sound of snoring was music to the ex-freedom fighter's ears as she huddled next to Appa. Just after falling asleep to the gentle pulse of the great best's heart, the strangely quiet teen bolted up right. Sweat glisten on her skin in the moonlight as she fought back the scream caught in her throat. Her knuckles were white from the iron clade grip on the hilt of the dinged up weapon that had been half pulled from its scabbard.

As she fought her own body to return to its non-panicked state, the mysterious teen tried to convince herself that it had just been a bad dream, and the sound that had awoken the light sleeper was just the fire collapsing as the wood on the bottom turned to nothing more than ash. But of course that is always easier said than done. "A look around the camp should put my mind at ease." Karra muttered to herself.

Ignoring the protests from the sleepy lemur-bat, Karra took a walk around the camp. Like she had suspected, it was just a dream. Again the silent warrior curled up in the giant bison's fur content that they were safe, but still unable to go to sleep. Instead she stared at the bright stars. "It was just a dream." Karra repeated to herself, "… just a dream." Closing her eyes, the dark skinned fighter gingerly touched the band on her upper arm. Her slender callused fingers touched the smooth stone in the center of the band, where a half faded carving of some water tribe emblems helped to ease some of the panic weld up with in her. Then again she continuing her 'it's only a dream' mantra.

Eventually the teen's mind was able to quiet down so that she could get a few more hours of sleep before the arguing would once again resume. It seemed like it took forever for the rest of the two tribes to cross the canyon. Around lunch time, the ground began to shake. Grabbing her weapon, the silver haired teen wasn't opposed when she sent everyone into Appa's saddle. Just before the canyon crawlers stampeded threw, Karra managed to take refuge in a tree; however it wasn't before a few of them took note of her presence.

The food of the destroyed bags forgotten for the sight of fresh prey, three beasts attacked at once, forcing the teen to abandon her perch as they jumped for her. With great skill none of the onlookers expected from the stranger, she pulled her weapon free of its scabbard and buried it deep in the flesh of one of the crawlers, creating both an opening for her escape, and a cushion for her decent from the tree.

It took great effort to pull her blade from the dying beast as she rolled away from her kill. However most of the spectators from Appa's back took note that Karra didn't miss a beat in taking off into the woods and out of sight; followed swiftly by the other two Canyon Crawlers. At the same moment the two leaders began there quarreling anew. "Too bad we can't rewrite history." The Gan Jin leader pointed out as he drew his weapon, and pointed it at the Zhang leader. "You thieves stole out sacred orb from Jin Wei."

"You tyrants unjustly imprisoned We Jin for twenty long years," Insisted the leader of the Zhang's.

Suddenly the young Avatar exclaimed "Wait", stopping the fight in its tracks. It was then that the youngest boy began to weave his tale of a hundred years ago. He told the tale of two little boys playing a game, not the same tale that had caused the war. At the end when the sick and elderly were united with their friends and family it was then that someone noticed the young healer hadn't yet returned from the forest.

"I'm sorry to bother you young Avatar, but has anyone seen your friend? The last time she was seen, the young woman was heading into the forest with two of those things chasing after her. Do you think we should send some of the warriors to help?" Asked one of the elderly Gan Jin, a worried look passed over his features as he remembered Karra's kindness from the night before.

"Don't bother." Everyone jumped at the unexpected appearance of the silent teen behind them. Despite a little bit of mud and dirt on her face, the blue eyed forest dweller appeared to be unharmed. Appa on the other hand didn't hesitate to show his delight in seeing the older teen safe and unharmed. In fact the giant bison brought a gentle smile to the girls face as he nearly completely cleaned her in one giant lick. Giggling, the silent silver haired teen patted the large beast on the head. "You wouldn't have been worried would you, big guy?"

A loud roar was the answer, causing her to chuckle again. "Well, we should be on our way." Sokka said smiling as Aang chowed down on a discarded custard tart.

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Aang awoke in the middle of the night with a start. Of course his bolting up right disturbed a very opinionated lemur-bat who was sleeping on the Avatar's stomach. Having been startled awake, Momo in turn awoke everyone else before taking refuge on the silent teen's shoulder across the camp. "Huh? Uh, what's going on? Did we get captured again?" Sokka asked, groggily holding his war club and boomerang half at the ready.

Across the cold fire ring Karra smirked in genuine amusement, from both the angry chatter of a very agitated creature on her shoulder and the sarcasm from the water tribe boy. "It's nothing; I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

However Katara was not so easily convinced. She noticed the way Aang hugged himself in the fetal position with a very pained look on his face. "Are you all right, Aang?"

"I'm okay."

"You seem to be having a lot of nightmares lately, you wanna tell me about it?"

"I think I just need some rest."

Just then Sokka bolted up in his sleeping bag, "You guys want to hear about my dream?" But a very annoyed look from his baby sister stopped his story before it even started. "That's ok. I didn't wanna talk about it anyway" He mumbled rolling over, and re-entering the land of dreams.

Karra watched the whole exchange out of the corner of her eye. She'd seen the look on Aang's face before; in fact it was mostly in her own reflection. Still the eldest teen couldn't say too much, she hadn't been sleeping well either. The fact of the matter was the sliver haired teen was just better at hiding it. At night every little noise would startle the light sleeper awake. Every shake of the leaves, every gentle breeze that stirred, every animal call, everything made her jump; despite the small group staying off the beaten path. So because Karra didn't say much anyway, no one noticed when the quiet teen started sleeping in the day and keeping watch at night.

The next morning as the gang ate breakfast Sokka was the first one to comment on the food. "Not to diss your foraging skills, but I'm kind of sick of plants that have no taste. Don't we have anything with more flavor around here? Don't we have anymore Meat?"

Shaking an empty nap sack, "Sorry Sokka, you've eaten everything else." Katara answered. "So if you want something else, looks like we're going to have to find a market."

"Guys, wait, this was in my dream, we shouldn't go to the market."

"What happened in your dream, Sokka?"

"Food eats people! Also, Momo could talk. You said some very unkind things."

If Karra wasn't so concerned about the prospect of entering a town, she might have been slightly amused by the self-appointed leader's antics. But the fact of the matter was the skittish teenager wasn't about to go into town. In fact the young girl was more likely to part ways then and there, then to hang around a town. Aang was the first one to notice Momo patting the silver haired girl on the head as if comforting her. Remembering the look of fear on the older teen's features from the Great Divide incident, that's when it hit him. _Karra's afraid of large groups of people._

Aang agreed to stop just outside of the town and let their new friend wait for them to return from their shopping trip. They left her standing by a deserted path just outside of town. After a short walk into the trees, the silent youth found a small clearing with absolutely no sign of human life. It was here that she finally let out an audible sigh of relief, wordlessly contemplated her next move. In truth the cautious teen was torn; part of her wanted to pack up and hit the road, to disappear. But on the other hand, part of her wanted to stay. It was odd how these complete strangers were starting to grow on her.

Not knowing what else to do, the girl with the silver stripe framing her face pulled the tattered and beat up weapon from its scabbard after laying her bag down at the tree line. Carefully Karra ran a callused hand down the side of the old blade, almost as if in respect or reverence. Without warning the silent adolescent broke into a sword form. It was elegant, both soft and strong at once. The young girl made the blade dance through the air with grace and skill. Suddenly the wind shook the trees, and as a few leaves fell around her, the reclusive teen sliced through them like butter with little more than a flick of the wrist.

There was a slight flush to Karra's cheeks as she sheathed her weapon. For a moment the quiet stranger stood, eyes closed face turned toward the sky. "Strom's coming." She finally whispered to herself. Sighing heavily, the silver haired teenager looked around the clearing again. Her heart sank. The storm had chosen the next move for her; she was going to have to move on. There was nothing around here to protect from the elements. Retrieving her things, she decided to make for the caves at the other side of the village.

Moving unnoticed through the woods was an art form for this girl, amazing still she did it without leaving behind much of a trail either. Because of skirting the town, the teen didn't make it before the rain began to fail, however she did make it in time to see Katara and Appa land outside a cave. Ignoring the fact that curiosity had gotten her involved with Jet, Karra let it get the better of her again and in no time she too was standing in the mouth of the cave with the giant bison. "I'm sorry for running away." She heard the young monk utter.

"It's ok. That fisherman was way out of line."

"Actually Katara, he wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"It has to do with your dream, doesn't it?" As the waterbender spoke, she walked over and knelt next to the sad boy. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, the empathetic girl added "Talk to me."

"Well, it's kind of a long story." Suddenly Momo could be heard chittering as Appa forced his way into the cave.

Immediately Karra began to remove what she could from the large mammal's saddle, doing her best to make him comfortable. "Do you think you could cook something if I get a little fire going?" Katara asked looking hopefully at the older teen. Nodding, the quiet stranger began pulling things from her own bag.

Very soon the three kids were sitting around a cheery little cooking fire. With a happy lemur-bat in his lap the young Avatar began his tale. "I'll never forget the day the monks told me I was the Avatar. I was playing with some of the other kids just outside the south wall. I was trying to teach them how to do the air scooter." The young boy was no great story teller, but he told his tale none the less. He talked of how the elders of his temple revealed to him that he was the Avatar. Aang also explained, as it was explained to him, that usually the identity is revealed at one's sixteenth birthday, but the elders were afraid of the eminent war.

"So you were upset that you were the Avatar? Why wouldn't you be excited about it?" Katara asked when Aang paused in his story.

"Well, I didn't know how to feel about it. All I knew is that after I found out, everything began changing." The Avatar explained how the other kids would no longer play with him, as well as the elders wanted to separate him from his mentor.

"That's awful, Aang. I don't know what to say."

However when Katara tried to comfort him, the bald monk hopped up; anger radiating from his body. "How could they do that to me! They wanted to take away everything I knew and everyone I loved!" As he shouted, the Avatar State glow returned to his tattoos. Also the air bubble began to form around him, blowing hot cinders from the fire into the two girl's faces.

"Whoa! Hot cinders!" The water bender cried out, bringing Aang out of his trance.

Slowly Aang sank back down, as the wind dispersed. "I'm sorry I got so mad."

"You have a right to be angry after the monks sent you away like that."

"Well, that's not exactly what happened." Guiltily the young monk looked down as he continued. "I was afraid and confused. I didn't know what to do. So I ran away; I never saw Gyatso again. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in your arms after you found me in the iceberg."

"You ran away."

Looking up at Katara, Aang continued. "And then the Fire Nation attacked our temple. My people needed me and I wasn't there to help."

"You don't know what would've …"

"The world needed me and I wasn't there to help."

"Aang."

"The fisherman was right! I did turn my back on the world."

"You're being too hard on yourself. Even if you did run away, I think it was meant to be. If you had stayed you would have been killed along with all the other airbenders."

"You don't know that."

"I know it's meant to be this way. The world needs you now. You give people hope." A look of hope slowly spread across Aang's face.

Silently Karra listened to the whole tale while she made a simple root soup. Despite not being very good with words, the older girl managed to spread smiles with the hot meal. There was a since of compassion in her body language, something very subtle that would never be able to be expressed in words. As the others ate, the silent girl went to stand in the cave entrance

The silver haired teen ignored what was going on around her and just enjoyed the rain. For someone who was as jumpy as Karra, it seemed strange that she seemed to find comfort in the storm. Looking out over the storm, the tension disappeared from her neck and shoulders when she visibly relaxed. Suddenly all the sleepless nights, and recent events caught up with the quiet stranger, so after one last deep breath of the cool stormy air she buried herself in the unpacked gear and promptly fell sound asleep. Nothing could wake her, not even the appearance of the old woman from the market letting the others know that her husband and Sokka hadn't made it back even though the storm was worsening.

It wasn't until the team was ready to leave again that they found her nestled cozily amongst the gear. "Were you here the whole time? How could you sleep through me almost dying?" Sokka shouted. With a giant yawn, Karra simply shrugged.

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Two days after the storm Sokka got sick enough that the team had to land. Karra was the one to find the abandoned town; she was also the one to suggest the shelter of the falling down temple that looked out over the ghost town. "This should bring your fever down." Katara said dabbing a wet cloth over her brother's forehead.

In his feverish delirium Sokka told his sister, "You know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humor."

"That's nice. I'll tell him." The water tribe girl smiled at her older brother before glancing worriedly over her shoulder where Karra was making a broth soup.

Appa grunted at Sokka who was curled up in his sleeping bag, safely nestled in the giant air bison's fur. "Ha ha, classic Appa."

"How's Sokka doing?" Aang asked coming over to check on the siblings.

"Not so good. Being out in that storm really did a number on him." Everyone watched as the self-proclaimed leader shivered and snort back his runny nose.

"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map." The young avatar held up a scroll. Spreading it out on the ground, "There's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."

"Aang, he's in no condition to travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow." Suddenly Katara began to cough.

"Not you too!"

"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fine…" but she cut herself off with more coughing.

The bald monk shielded himself from her violent coughing. "That's how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him. He thinks he's an earthbender!"

Again everyone turned to look at the deliriously sick teenager. "Take that, you rock!" If it wasn't for the sickness, Karra might have found Sokka's mindset amusing, yet as it was his continued delirium concerned her. Nothing she had given him seemed to work, and it frustrated her to no end not being able to help someone.

"A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too." Aang insisted grabbing his staff. "I'm going to find some medicine." Opening the glider and walking to the edge of the temple, the bald monk was just about to fly off to the herbalist when a flash of lighting and a clap of thunder sounded in the distance. Twirling the staff, the airbender left it leaning against a column. "Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot. Keep an eye on them guys."

Karra watched Aang launch himself into the air and run off. Appa grunted after the young boy, only to make a delirious Sokka laugh at some unvoiced joke. Sighing heavily the silent teen dished out the soup, before taking another look at the sick boy. Yet after spoon feeding the second eldest teenager, Karra returned to her secluded seat. For a while the silent girl sat near the smokeless fire she was nursing, watching as Katara continued to care for the self-proclaimed leader despite her own condition worsening. Before she could stop them, memories from the past flooded her vision.

_The background faded into woods as a younger Karra, before her haired turned silver, could be seen running from some heavily armed Earth Kingdom soldiers. Despite how hard she fought, still the little kid couldn't shake them. Even still she did manage to take one down before finally ending up pinned to a tree, showing a gash across the arm which kept her from moving it. The tough looking girl glared at her attackers, cold fire blazing from the aquamarine orbs. Yet that was all she could do as the captured prey waited for the inescapable attack._

_ Practically materializing out of the shadows, two men dressed from head to toe in black appeared. As they defeated the Earth Benders, Karra couldn't help but notice the dislocated shoulder one of her rescuers donned, and the broken off arrow protruding from the forearm of the other. In no time the benders where defeated. Once the danger was neutralized, an almost worried giant turned to an indifferent kid, grumbling "You shouldn't have broken from the group like that."_

_ The smaller of her two rescuers ignored the arrow in his arm, only to bend down and peel away the fabric exposing her wound instead. Confused, little Karra simply stared blankly at the two warriors who seemed more interested in her minor injuries then their own. All the fiery defiance had drained from the small girl's features. With a heavy sigh both men's expressions dimmed as they shook their heads._

Just then the coughing from Sokka and Katara jolted the quiet teen back to the present. Shaking off the haunting vision, she once again watched helplessly as her two new friends shivered from there sickness. Kneeling between the siblings, "Here drink the last of the water and I'll go get some more."

"Thanks creepy ghost lady."

Karra was halfway out the temple when the sick boy's delirium caused her to stiffen. Slowly she looked over her shoulder, an awkward smile sat uncomfortably on her features. Grabbing her shoulder pack and the empty water skin the silver haired teen hurried down the hillside so as not to have to answer any questions.

Silence suited the sixteen year old. It had for as long as she could remember, but recently the quiet had begun to betray her. It was getting increasingly harder to suppress her thoughts and remain impassive. Yet even if the stillness of nature no longer liked the shadowlike teen, it didn't stop her from seeking it out. Strangely enough among her new friends, silence was a rare commodity. Even weirder, Karra didn't seem to mind it either; it was nothing like what she'd had to put up with from Jet.

As she strolled along, the silver haired girl came across a small house crumbling from neglect, but still it made her stop in her tracks. The building in and of itself wasn't anything special, it was merely a rickety shack. For no reason at all, a mesmerized young woman gently ran a callused hand over the wood of the doorframe. Without warning another memory flashed across her vision.

_This time a younger Karra stood next to a woman who had to have been in her late thirties. In fact that happened to be the only thing not average about her. They stood looking out over a ghost town, much like the one older Karra currently stood in, from a tall cliff edge. "Tell me again Dog, why we can't spend the night down there among the houses? We've been traveling for days."_

_ "Oh give it a rest Monkey, we're all tired," growled another woman as she slide down from the ledge above._

_ Popping over the ridge a mischievous twinkle caught the eye of a withdrawn kid as a man no older then twenty-five came into view. "It's not that Rabbit, everyone knows Monkey loves houses. But in our line of work, one rarely gets to actually stay in one."_

_ "Yeah well it might be fun to pretend to be a family for a little while. Right Kid?" A rich base connected to a handsome faced young man patted a machinelike Karra on the head. "I swear …" He sighed when even his most charming smile didn't get a reaction from the stoic child._

_ "Don't waste your breath Dragon. That one was born without a sense of humor."_

_ "Says Dog, the one who never grew up." The woman called Monkey chimed in._

_ "Will you guys give it a rest already? It's been three days, since the kid got dumped in out laps. And for three days, you guys have argued over whether or not the brat's been brainwashed. Who Cares! The sooner we get the job done the sooner we can go home. NO more babysitting." The woman called Rabbit interrupted. Rolling her eyes she stood in the path they were all following, tapping her foot rapidly with arms crossed over her chest._

A faint horn echoed off the abandoned town's houses, bringing Karra's attention back to the world around her. For a moment she paid no heed to the signal blast that had come from the other side of the temple. Yet after taking a few steps towards the river, suddenly it dawned on her 'that's where Aang was headed.'

Without a second thought the young warrior turned on her heels and tore off after the Avatar. She ran as fast as she could but only managed to arrive in time to see the young boy get attacked by mysterious archers after exiting the herbalist's place. She watched as the air bender successfully blocked the volley of arrows with an air bubble, yet she cursed under her breath when the boy held one up as if giving it back. "Fool," she grumbled. From her hiding spot she watched as the young boy evaded the arrows and tried to run, only to be pinned by a single shot that held his foot in place. That was all it took for the hidden girl to know who she was dealing with. "Yu-Yan" Karra breathed. Hardening her features, the former Freedom Fighter silently crept forward as Aang released himself just in time to avoid the next volley. Zig-ing and zag-ing across the land the elite archers followed the Avatar; meanwhile the shadowlike teen followed the enemy.

Patiently the huntress stalked her prey, waiting for an opportunity. Suddenly the bald monk jumped off the cliff attempting to escape his attackers, the problem was it didn't work. Almost immediately the Fire Nation Soldiers followed him over the Cliffside. Risking blowing her cover, Karra too bolted over the side. Knowing full well she had no plan to stop herself from ending up a pancake at the bottom of the forest below, yet the stoic teen suspected that the Archers did. So when the closest one to her shot an arrow with a rope attached to it into a nearby tree, the young woman grabbed the archery expert.

Together they swung from the rope; the enemy holding tightly to the actual rope, Karra around his waist. So instead of gracefully landing in the trees below like everyone else, it took everything she had not to simply slam into a trunk or tree branch. Still it didn't stop her from using the Archer as a cushion; putting the poor man out like a light. The teenage girl checked to make sure the enemy was still breathing before relieving him of both his weapons and his uniform. When he awoke the unfortunate soldier would have a time removing himself from the tree she now tied him too.

Donning the Yu-Yan uniform, she painted her face with the make-up found in his bag using the reflective surface of the water as a mirror. Once disguised, Karra followed the sounds of a screaming monk, yet once again she was too late to help. From her hiding spot the young woman watched the Air nomad form a wall of ice, only to see it shattered by successive arrows. The next volley pinned his left arm, followed by a net that captured his upper body.

Desperately she looked from the archers to the young monk, searching for a way to rescue him. Unfortunately there were just too many soldiers to do anything at the moment. Silently Karra fell in step with the column of archers as they headed for where the stoic teenager could only assume was there base. From the back of the military formation, she watched as the poor Avatar struggled in his bond. If it wasn't fire nation soldiers who had caught the young air bender, it might have been amusing to see him hanging from his hands and feet like fresh meat being triumphantly brought home from a hunt. So Karra waited.

Staying out of the captive's line of sight was easy when pretty much no one noticed a short archer, with an oversized uniform, join the ranks. Patiently she bided her time, calmly hiding in plain sight till the right moment to spring the Avatar would arrive. As they walked through the trees, further and further away from the others, an internal debate waged within Aang's rescuer. When would be the ideal time to strike?

The woods would grant the huntress ample opportunities to pick off the enemy one at a time. Each trunk of a tree, each hole in the ground, each cluster of shrubs would offer up excellent places to stash a body; and yet would it be worth the risk to try and rescue him before they reached the destination? How long would it be before they reached where they were going, so could it be possible to wait till everyone went to sleep for the night?

However all was forgotten as the band of soldiers exited the forest. Luckily no one noticed the stutter step Karra made as the gigantic metal fortress suddenly sprouted up in the distance. Without realizing it, the disguised girl touched her arm were the leather band was beneath the uniform, before bowing her head and resynchronizing with the others around her.

End Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5

For some odd reason standing in the back of the column of soldiers triggered another memory from the disguised teenager's past. _Instead of being surrounded by the enemy archers, a ten year old Karra was surrounded by a fierce and frightening band of eleven. With blank expressions, the whole team was covered from head to foot in black uniforms; the only identifying mark was a simple gold insignia stitched on every pair of fingerless gloves as they stood in the courtyard of a large metal reinforced fort. As they waited, a highly decorated officer approached. "Welcome to the eastern colony fort. What can I do for you?" Absentmindedly the young child ran her fingers over the golden flames that made up the pattern on her gloves as those cold, expressionless blue orbs silently observed the compound. From the slight quickening of the older soldiers footsteps to the ignored sewer grate, nothing escaped those impassive eyes as she simply watched._

"_Hey guys look, I didn't know it was bring your twerp to work day." A foot soldier called. Entering from the sleeping barracks he elbowed his friends in the ribs, completely oblivious to the horrified looks he received from his commanding officers. _

"_Yeah, well your village sent a messenger hawk; they want to know when their village nimrod is coming home."_

"_Dog, that's enough." The fierce looking warrior with tiger strips tattooed on his cheeks waved down the twenty-five year old with his arm on Karra's shoulders. "Are you the commander of this base?" _

_Fidgeting nervously under the hard gaze of the people in black uniforms, the greeter answered "Yes, I am."_

"_Then I would prefer to talk with you in private for a moment. Ox," the seven foot giant dwarfing everyone in the vicinity saluted his commander. "Dragon," the menacing man with a black dragon winding over the left half of his face nodded his head ever so slightly to show his acknowledgement. "The two of you keep Snake out of trouble. Horse, Ram, and Monkey, the three of you come with me. We have some things to discuss with the officers before we can get started." _

"We are the sons and daughters of fire! The superior element! Until today, only one thing stood in our path to victory. The Avatar! I am here to tell you that he is now my prisoner!" The sound of a man that the disguised sixteen year old could only assume was the leader of this base shook Karra from the past and brought her back to the present. Cursing herself for not paying any attention to the fortress' layout, or where the avatar had been taken, all she could do at the moment was duck behind a stack of supplies and rid herself of the borrowed uniform.

When she had donned the disguise back in the forest, the silent teen had changed into a tattered black uniform and worn it under the stolen garment. It was an attempt to cover up the simple fact that the clothing was too big for her. Now hidden amongst a wall of wooden crates the warrior teenager pulled from the stolen quiver a small cloth bundle. She'd kept it hidden in a secret compartment of the shoulder pack that had been stashed safely in the woods. Yet for a moment, all Karra could do was stair at the black cloth in her hand. If anyone could have seen her, one might have thought she feared it.

After a deep, calming breath the hidden girl unwrapped a pair of fingerless gloves and two bracelets full of acupuncture needles all rolled up within a black cloth mask. After donning the last few touches to the old uniform, all that could be seen of the Avatar's rescuer was her piercing aqua eyes. Absentminded fingers ran over the faded and tattered golden flame insignia. She took another steading deep breath.

Karra continued to kick herself for not paying attention on the way in. This was going to be more difficult than first expected. Without a general location, the quiet forest dweller was going to have to search the whole place. That would take time, and time was something she didn't have. Instincts and intuition told her the young boy would be held somewhere heavily guarded. That most likely meant he was towards the center of the compound. Still that only narrowed down the possibilities and it was only speculation. By no means did it give a definitive location, but it was a place to start.

Cursing under her breath, the ex-freedom fighter let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly movement on the walkway overhead drew the attention of the teenager hiding in the shadows. Unconsciously, Karra pressed her body against the crates as a rope silently cascaded over the wall across the courtyard. A figure just a little bigger then herself quickly descended and made a b-line for the unguarded sewers. The newcomer was similarly dressed, except where Aang's friend only carried acupuncture needles for weapons the other figure carried a sword. A little taken off guard, curiosity took over the sixteen year old. Having no better ideas she followed the blue spirit mask down the drain.

It was easy enough to follow the other invader through the practically empty corridors of the main tower. However she did feel slightly guilty as the other person seemed to be doing all the work. Any guard he passed was taken down. Or at least she guessed it was a 'him' from the width of the shoulders.

The closer the pair of shadows got to the upper level, the clearer it became that this other mysterious figure was after her prize. The 'Blue Spirit' and his shadow came to the only cell on the top floor. The Avatar had to have been inside since it was guarded by four soldiers. Quietly Karra watched the masked swordsman take out three of the four guards. _It's time for this unconscious chivalry to end._ Finally leaving the safety of her hiding place, the two living shadows rounded the bend. The unsuspecting soldier tried to sound the alarm, but was shutdown only to have his eyes grow wide with freight as two enemy figures appeared before him.

Impressed by the 'Blue Spirit's' ingenuity, the soldiers last ditch effort to protect its quarry was extinguished with a bucket of water. She also noted efficiency of the masked boys movements in restraining the unfortunate fire nation citizen. Yet that was not the concern of the girl with a silver streak lining her face. Shooting passed the others Karra picked the lock on the metal door and was in in no time. Rusty as the teenager's skills might have been, thankfully they were not lost. There was just one problem with her plan. Her new 'friend' was faster than the quiet girl had anticipated. Effortlessly he pushed his way in before she could close the door behind her.

If the other figure clad in black was surprised by the sudden appearance of another invader, he showed no signs of it. In fact the masked stranger didn't seem concerned at the defensive position she'd taken between the Avatar chained to pillars in the center of the room and the mysterious figure. _I don't have time for this._ Taking the needles still in her hands, Karra expertly threw them at the other figure's pectoral muscles. If they had hit their mark, the swordsman's arm would have been reduced to deadweight. Unfortunately, he dodged and drew his own weapon.

Quickly the distance between them was closed, rendering any more of the pin attacks virtually useless. The dueling broadswords the 'Blue Spirit' wielded allowed him to be close enough that long ranged throws would be in accurate, but far enough away that the close range jabs wouldn't make contact. Still, nimbly enough the girl attached to those piercing blue eyes managed to avoid most of the sword blows. However one did catch the threadbare sleeve of Karra's arm. Not only did it tear a hole in the tattered fabric, but it also managed to weaken the already battered arm band. Its own weight became too much to bear, and unceremoniously it fell to the ground. A snakes head replaced it peeking out from the new hole in the old uniform.

Before she could stoop to retrieve it, a gust of wind slammed the both of the military fort invaders against the far wall of the cell. In a shaky voice Aang asked, "Are you here to rescue me?"

For a moment the room was still. Both Karra and the masked figure stared at each other, sizing up the opposition. Just when the young Avatar's traveling companion began to fear the worst, the 'Blue Spirit' nodded. Then making a show of putting away her acupuncture needles, she extended a hand of friendship. Trying not to tense up when he noticed the faded insignia on the fingerless gloves, her new ally allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Wordlessly, both fighters collected there things and Aang was freed with some quick lock picking work. "All take that as a yes." Aang told himself when it became clear no one else was going to speak.

End Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6

A/n: I am soooooooooooooo sorry it has taken me so long to post. My story dart board got a new job and so my creativity just kind a dried up. Thankfully now i have found someone else to help me out. Thank you so muck for your support and i hope the next chapter isn't so long in the making.

In no time the Avatar was free from his bonds, but when Karra turned to retrieve her armband, she found it in the masked stranger's hand. For a moment the tension between Aang's two rescuers could have been sliced with a knife. Without a word 'the Blue Spirit' held it out to her. Very carefully Karra took the warn leather band, pausing just long enough to run her thumb over the faded water markings before tucking it behind one of the needle wristbands.

They all filed out of the empty cell, with the stranger taking the lead, Aang in the middle, and Karra covering the rear. "My frogs! Come Back! And stop thawing out!" The young avatar yelled as he tried catching the half thawed frogs as the group passed them. However his efforts were interrupted when the two figures in black dragged the boy away. "Wait, my friends need to suck on those frogs!"

Quickly the avatar and his two rescuers made their way through the meandering hallways to the sewers. Unfortunately by the time they reach the rope where the 'Blue Spirit' had met up with Karra, the alarm sounded and they were caught. "There, on the wall!" Someone called, but they were barely halfway up the rope before it was cut. Thankfully Aang's bending gave them a soft landing.

"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!"

Karra, Aang, the Blue Spirit all took off running for the exit. Unfortunately for the escapees the gate was quickly closing, and there path quickly filling with enemy soldiers. "Stay close to me!" The avatar yelled behind him putting on a burst of speed.

Try as she might, the shrouded girl knew they would never be able to make it through the closing gates in time. It didn't matter how many guards she paralyzed by her acupuncture needles. Still all that mattered was the avatar escaping. Karra had resigned herself to the idea that she wasn't going to get out of this the moment she'd undertaken the rescue mission. Out of the corner of cool aqua colored orbs, the newest member of "Team Avatar" noticed he'd stopped running. She bit back the stream of curses forming on the tip of her tongue watching the child steal a spear with air bending. This was not going smoothly.

In the heat of the fight Aang was blocked from her view as the Fire Nation soldiers swarmed. For a moment Karra's heart fluttered. It wasn't from fear, or dread, or from any sane reaction to the slowly deteriorating situation. No it was exhilaration. She matched the armed soldiers blow for blow with movements that felt as natural as breathing to her. Battle was familiar, battle was now. There were no haunting shadows of the past or uncertain futures. There was only battle. Freedom. And she reveled in it.

Then she was weightless. Using his air bending skills, the avatar had flung his two rescuers onto the top of their nearest obstacle. Standing back to back, the two figures in black waited for the young monk to join them. Both held their weapons at ready as more soldiers came after them. "You can't carry us both." Karra finally spoke. As Aang's head popped up over the wall, she guessed the avatar's plan for making it to the next gate by the way he swung the bo staff above his head. "Stay together, I'll find you on the other side." Before either of her companions could protest she slid limbo style beneath one of the Fire Nation soldiers and ducked down the corridor.

It was a big gamble leaving the world's greatest treasure in the hands of a complete stranger, but there wasn't much choice in the matter either. She knew enough about her newest ward to know he would do almost anything to help both of his new friends escape with him, and that was going to put them all in grave danger. Not to mention it would most likely get all of them caught in the process, so Karra did what she had to do and hoped some of the heat would take up the chase.

But splitting from the pack had its advantages as well. It would give the silent girl a chance to do what she did best. The smirk behind her mask grew when she extinguished all the torches as she past them tossing them to the ground in her wake. Darkness was her ally. At the bottom of the spiral stair she quickly ducked around the corner. As expected, the soldiers tripped over the discarded torches leaving themselves in an unconscious heap at the bottom of the stairs.

A soft groan escaped from the girl with the silver streak in her hair. Everything in her wanted to just turn and bolt, but a something made her stop dead in her tracks. Karra clenched her gloved hands into tight fists, only to relax them again when she lost her internal struggle. Turning on her heels she slowly untangled the soldiers. Then removing one of her fingerless gloves Karra quickly scanned each of the men for major injures. Thankfully she found none. Still studying the bodies did manage to spark an idea.

For the second time today, Karra donned another soldier's uniform, this time stashing the unconscious people in an abandoned closet, making sure they wouldn't surface; at least until she managed to slip out of the fort. "Hold your fire!" She heard someone bark as she accidentally found her way to the lookout post located above the final gate. "The Avatar must be captured alive!"

The hidden teenager watched as the Blue Spirit's swords instantly found their way to the bald monk's throat. Head cocked to the side, Karra studied her 'ally'. The way the shoulder's squared off to the men calling the shots, begging them to call the bluff. In fact she probably would have pulled the same move if the roles had been reversed. "Open the gate." The strained command broke through her musings reminding Karra she still had a job to do.

"Admiral, what are you doing?"

"Let them out, now!"

As the gate opened two men joined the soldiers already standing on the lookout platform. "How could you let them go?" Someone questioned there leader.

"A situation like this requires… precision."

Crap_, _the Yu Yan archers. Why did she have to forget about them? They were the whole reason she was in this mess.

"Do you have a clear shot?" Asked the Admiral when a single archer appeared.

There was no answer from the bowmen, except that of a bowed head in preparation for his shot. "Knock out the thief. I'll deliver him to the Fire Lord along with the Avatar."

Karra's blood froze. If she acted now, the two others would be safe and could retreat in the commotion she caused. But there was always the chance Aang would attempt to return to save his rescuer that didn't make it out with them. It also meant she would be caught. She hoped no one saw her shiver. Still if she did nothing, the element of surprise remained hers, and so the slim possibility that she could still rescue them existed. Gripping the spear she'd taken from the donor of her current disguise just a little tighter, it appeared as if the best course of action was no action.

Time appeared to have slow down to a crawl as the arrow was released and traveled across the open field before the fort only to hit its mark. The Blue Spirit fell backwards onto the dirt path. "Quick! Recover the Avatat!" Karra thanked the spirits Aang had enough sense to use his air bending to kick up the dirt like a smoke screen. Even more impressive, when everything cleared the soldiers that had piled out of the now open gates where left scratching their heads, the young avatar and his rescuer had vanished without a trace.

"Admiral Zhao,"

"Search the fort for the third intruder, the thief couldn't have gotten far. I want to know where the avatar has gone." The Admiral growled his frustration.

Following the leaders down the stairs and into the courtyard between the fist and the second walls, "Colonel Shinu, the third intruder has not been found yet, but one of the men discovered this." A soldier bowed low handing over a piece of black cloth.

Zhao snatched it out of the Colonel's hand. Karra hadn't paid much attention to the conversation between the soldiers, until a flash of gold caught her attention. The black cloth they'd discovered was one of her gloves. She must have dropped it in hiding those men from before. Panic was beginning to set in. "This insignia belongs to General Layfan doesn't it." Colonel Shinu tried not to lose his temper over his colleague's petty antics. "If I'm not mistaken, more specifically it belongs to the 1st squad of the 4th platoon."

"The Deadly Twelve." The words left Zhao's mouth with such venom that a few of the lower ranking men who were waiting for orders shivered in reaction to their leader's mood.

"You, bring me a messenger hawk. I want to know what business General Layfan has in this area that he would have the audacity to interfere in my affairs."

"General Layfan has always been a wild card. I highly doubt he will admit any involvement in this, but it appears as if you have more competition for your vanity project then just a banished teen now." The Colonel smiled. Zhao stalked off.

Karra was struggling to keep her composer. How could she have been so stupid? With a white knuckle grip on her spear, she desperately searched the empty yard for anywhere to hide. Nothing. Fear was setting in making it difficult to focus. Suddenly dread dropped the poor girl's heart in the pit of her stomach, Aang. He was still out there alone with a masked stranger. She had to escape. As much as she feared capture, something else sent a colder chill down her spine. If the squad figured out she'd teamed up with the avatar, things could get really bad really fast. Not just for herself anymore, 'The Deadly Twelve' weren't just another band of bounty hunters. They were the very definition of elite. She **had** to escape. There was no way on this earth she was going to let the Fire Nation get another foot hold in this war.

Defiance sparked for a moment in the hidden teen, pushing all other thoughts from her mind. Karra had a new mission, a new battle to fight. As another group of soldiers past her on their way through the gate to join in the search for the disappeared Avatar, Karra fell into step at the back of the ranks. No one questioned another body joining in with the search. Once outside the metal fortress walls, it was just as easy to slip out of formation in the dense brush of the forest her group investigated.

It didn't take long to double back to the abandoned temple where Sokka and Katara were nestled on top of Appa's fur, but something kept Karra away. She found herself on the backside of the wreckage with her back against the cool stone, head in her hands. Aang had not returned yet, and to be perfectly honest she didn't know where else to start looking. Unfortunately that wasn't the only concern on her mind. _They have to know._ She told herself for the hundredth time. _You're putting them in grave danger just by being with them, and they have a right to make up their minds._

A groan tore its way out of Karra's throat. "I can't tell them." Came the broken record reply of the other half of the argument. "They can't defend themselves against the squad without my knowledge. I can protect them; I just have to stick around."

_Protect them, like you protected the freedom fighters? Who are you trying to fool; you were nothing more than a mere weapon to Jet._

"Yeah, and when the same argument over whether or not to tell him popped up, look where that got me. He used my Fire Nation lineage, my warrior past, and Tiger's stupid code against me. No I won't go through that again, this is one of many reason's I travel alone."

_How much more are you going to tempt fate? You risked too much already the time you spent near the occupied earth kingdom village. Just tell them and you can be free and clear of this mess. No guilt, no worries. _

With heavy sigh, Karra let her head fall back onto the stone behind her. "But the Avatar mustn't fall into the Fire Nation's hands. If there is any hope of staying one step ahead of General Layfan, the Fire Nation must not win this war. If they do there will be no where on this earth to hide from the consequences of my actions."

_Hang Tiger's stupid code, the world isn't wrong or right, there is only survival. Actions based on some ridiculous contradictory moral code will not save you from getting caught._

"His code doesn't make sense, but for now they are my team. They gave me an escape from Jet; Code or no code I owe them. I can't just walk away." Out of the corner of her eye, Karra noticed Aang returning. He was alone, and the slump of his drooping shoulders didn't make her feel any better. "Not yet." Dragging herself onto reluctant feet, the girl with the silver streak in her hair took one last look at where she'd buried the stolen uniform and groaned. "When did the world get so complicated?"

Slinging her bag that she had retrieved from its hiding spot, Karra steeled her nerves and followed the avatar up the temple steps to join the other kids.

End Chapter 6


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